Initiatives tweaked to get more Shah Alam households involved
SHAH Alam City Council (MBSA) along with its programme partners will modify its recycling initiatives to expand into more housing areas.
MBSA, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd and KPT Recycle Sdn Bhd – partners of three ongoing recycling programmes – signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to continue the next phases and cover more households in Shah Alam, Selangor.
They comprise the Strata Recycling Programme for apartments, Door-to-Door Collection for landed houses and Kitar Recycling Initiative for village areas.
“For Strata Recycling, we plan to adapt it into a points system, similar to what is done at certain low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur,” said MBSA solid waste management and public cleaning department director Mohd Azmi Amer Khan.
“The existing method, involving some 540 units at two locations, encourages residents to place their dry recyclable items into dedicated roll-on, roll-off bins.
“But not everyone knows how to separate their waste properly.
“Under the points system, residents can drop off their recyclables to be converted into a token sum to offset their apartment’s maintenance fees,” he said, adding that incentivising recycling would increase participation.
Schoolchildren dropping off flattened drink packets into a collection bin at Nestle’s booth at MBSA Convention Centre.
For Kitar Recycling, Mohd Azmi said there was a need to work closely with councillors and community leaders in the two villages to increase participation from its current 20% of households.
“We hope to expand it to other villages, such as those in northern Shah Alam.
“The initiative started in Kampung Sungai Kandis and Kampung Jalan Kebun, and we hope to expand to other areas such as Paya Jaras.
“A motorcycle with sidecar is used for this door-to-door collection as large trucks cannot access small village roads,” he said.
For door-to-door collection involving some 55,000 landed houses, KPT Recycle director Lee Chay Chen said MBSA intended to expand it in three to four phases next year, with each phase comprising 12,000 to 15,000 houses.
“There are over 60,000 households, including landed housing, apartments and village areas, participating in the recycling programmes to date.
“We are targeting to have 100,000 households, particularly those from landed properties, by next year,” said Mohd Azmi, after the MOU signing ceremony at MBSA Convention Centre.
Guest of honour, Selangor local government and tourism committee chairman Ng Suee Lim also launched the 3R Family app that promotes and supports better recycling habits.
Nestle (Malaysia) chief executive officer Juan Aranols in his speech said “Collectively, our recycling programmes have now reached almost 50% of landed housing and 26% of total households (strata, landed and village) in Shah Alam, making MBSA a pioneer in promoting and enabling recycling among Malaysian cities.”
Shah Alam deputy mayor Cheremi Tarman said MBSA spent about RM80mil per year on waste management.
He said it was important to engage and educate schoolchildren about green habits such as reduce, reuse and recycle (3R) practices, and the impact of global warming in hopes they would share the message and continue the habits as adults.
The event included a forum on “Direction of Recycling Collection in Shah Alam” attended by representatives from schools and resident groups.
Initiatives tweaked to increase participation of Shah Alam households
The Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), along with partners Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd and KPT Recycle Sdn Bhd, will modify their recycling initiatives to reach more housing areas. They recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to continue the next phases of three ongoing recycling programs and extend coverage to more households in Shah Alam, Selangor.
The three programs include the Strata Recycling Programme for apartments, Door-to-Door Collection for landed houses, and the Kitar Recycling Initiative for village areas.
Mohd Azmi Amer Khan, the director of MBSA’s solid waste management and public cleaning department, explained that the Strata Recycling Programme would be adapted into a points system, similar to what is already being done in certain low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur. This program currently involves about 540 units at two locations, where residents are encouraged to place dry recyclable items into dedicated roll-on, roll-off bins. However, not everyone knows how to separate their waste properly. The points system aims to incentivize recycling by allowing residents to drop off recyclables in exchange for a token sum that can be used to offset their apartment’s maintenance fees.
As part of the Kitar Recycling Initiative, MBSA plans to work closely with councillors and community leaders in two villages to increase participation beyond the current 20% of households. Efforts will be made to expand the initiative to other villages, especially those in northern Shah Alam. The program currently operates in Kampung Sungai Kandis and Kampung Jalan Kebun, and there are plans to extend it to areas such as Paya Jaras. This initiative involves using a motorcycle with a sidecar for door-to-door collection since large trucks are unable to access small village roads.
Lee Chay Chen, the director of KPT Recycle, mentioned that MBSA intends to expand the door-to-door collection program, currently serving around 55,000 landed houses, in three to four phases next year. Each phase will cover around 12,000 to 15,000 houses. In total, more than 60,000 households, including landed housing, apartments, and village areas, are already participating in the recycling programs. MBSA aims to increase this number to 100,000 households, with a particular focus on those living in landed properties, by next year.
During the MOU signing ceremony at MBSA Convention Centre, the Selangor local government and tourism committee chairman, Ng Suee Lim, launched the 3R Family app, which promotes and supports better recycling habits. Juan Aranols, the CEO of Nestle (Malaysia), highlighted that the recycling programs implemented by the partners have reached almost 50% of landed housing and 26% of total households (strata, landed, and village) in Shah Alam, making MBSA a pioneer in promoting and enabling recycling among Malaysian cities.
The Shah Alam deputy mayor, Cheremi Tarman, stated that MBSA spends around RM80mil per year on waste management. He stressed the importance of engaging and educating schoolchildren about green habits such as the 3R practices (reduce, reuse, and recycle) and the impact of global warming. The hope is that these children will share the message and continue these habits into adulthood.
As part of the event, a forum on the “Direction of Recycling Collection in Shah Alam” was held, with representatives from schools and resident groups in attendance.
Credit: The Star : Metro Feed
